Teacher's Desk.. The place where the magic starts... 

First Day of School! 179 to go..

New bee hive decor for the room.. Love to be organized and pretty. 

Summer is Over... Now the real fun begins...

The planning, cleaning, and set up are almost finished.. We are 3 days away from welcoming back our awesomes. One of the biggest issues we seem to be having right now is the level of differentiation that is still best practice. In my district it was determined years ago that it is not best practice to have general education curriculum students and alternative curriculum students in the same program. To that end, there are Core Autism Programs and Alternative Curriculum Autism programs. Unfortunately with budgets causing staffing issues placement is getting confused and IEP teams are placing core kids into alt programs ( mine for example). The level of differentiation is beyond the scope of appropriate, and most alt classes don't even have access to  the standard curriculum. So, here is to improved second tier service from admin...doing what is best for kids.. happy new year all!

A work in progress...I have a surfeit of cupboards and few bulletin board. I am trying painted bulldog clips hanging from small nails on my butcher paper covered cupboard doors to make my work display easily updated... Next week, titles. 

Using painted bulldog clips on my bulletin boards helps save my fabric or butcher paper covered cabinets and keeps students' work pristine of tape, staples, or glue. Easy to switch out and super cute! 

I DID IT! I promised myself I would make these this summer for our morning circle area. 

Happy July!

Summer Break! This is the very best time to start really thinking about what next year can look like. I spent some time today hole-punching the pages of my custom plan book. I have spent a few years fine tuning what my perfect lesson plan book would be, it fits into a 14x17 inch binder ( thank you Staples for this awesome size)  They are printed double sided, so when sitting open the planner shows my whole schedule and my weeks' lesson at glance. Tomorrow I will sit with next years tentative calendar and start inputting dates. Going back to school in August has a lot of challenges, I don't want disorganization to be one of them. I am also beginning to work on some of my own items for Teachers Pay Teachers....updates on that coming! 

One of my favorite self created multi-sensory activities... We trace, we color, we sort, visual and kinesthetic sensory in one adorable mason jar activity. I made a felt board version of this activity to do as a group lesson. 

180 Days...

I cannot believe that 180 days have flown by so quickly. I was so sad to say goodbye to 3 of my 6 students who are leaving us. I think about the progress and wish I had more time. My parents have been amazing this year, and our experiment with parent workshops and volunteers was a smashing success.
We are planning a July get together to keep the parents networking and to give the students an opportunity to stay bonded with each other, and me, over the long summer. I am super excited about it and can't wait to share out the great time.
Summer months are so filled with planning for the new year, it feels almost like Christmas. This year will be bittersweet however, the entire administrative team at my school has been replaced with new. Change, it is not just our students who have  difficulties with it. I am hoping that all will be well.
Back to prepping!

My Classroom Guidelines are always posted and sent home at the beginning of the year. 

It's Been Awhile...

HI!
 It HAS been awhile...and I have gotten a few emails reminding me of my neglect :). I have been busily teaching and making magic with my littles. With 11 more instructional days to go, my class is both winding down AND speeding up. There is so much work involved in closing up a classoom while still teaching and beginning prep for next year.

One big change I made this year, I tried my hand at having a parent volunteer one day a week. This was in addition to the monthly parent workshops I do. It was a very rewarding experiment. My caution ( and the reason I waited so many years to try it) : Find the right parent! it is hard to find just the right fit for your class and students. I found the right parent and will miss her greatly next school year.

I am making a commitment to myself to be more proactive on my blog...and post more about summer prepping! Any comments about how YOU plan for the new year during the summer months are welcome. And please, you are always welcome to continue emailing me with specific questions. I am a better emailer than blogger apparently!

Lisa